x
  • Country ranking ?

    695
  • Producer ranking ?

    27
  • Decanting time

    -
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Salads

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The Story

Each Château has its own style. What would be, according to you, the specificities of Château Smith Haut Lafitte White?

About our style, I would say that either you love our wines or you hate them. But be careful, if you do love them, it is for life… Our style is quite special, even paradoxical.
We have 90% of Sauvignon Blanc in our blend, however this proportion is almost unidentifiable on a blind tasting because of the age of our vines, ...

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Vintage 2018

Report and recommendations for the 2018 Bordeaux vintage

by Andrew Caillard MW

2018 is an exceptional year. Bordeaux whites and Sauternes are very good, but from an Australian perspective, the excitement is all in the red wines. All sub-regions produced examples of very good wines, but some performed better than others. Generally, the largest estates have made exemplary wines illustrating that the human factor and wealth can have a major...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Straw-yellow colour with green highlights.
The nose is relatively discreet at first, with notes of beautifully ripe yellow fruit. Swirling in the glass goes on to reveal a complex aromatic palette of white and yellow fruit (grapefruit, vineyard peach, apricot, citron), white flowers (lime blossom), spices (fresh ginger) and smoky nuances. This wine starts out crisp and delicious on the palate demonstrating a wonderful balance between richness and freshness. The middle palate is rich and displays a lovely velvety texture, culminating in a very long aftertaste that is both fresh and aromatically complex.

The Grand Vin 2018 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc ratchets everything up a notch, offering a vividly fresh bouquet of crushed citrus, salty minerality, caramelized grapefruit, acacia flowers, and toast. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and racy on the palate, with bright acidity, yet it still brings beautiful concentration of fruit as well as length on the finish. This is a brilliant white in every way. Give bottles another year or three and enjoy over the following 10-15. I suspect it will evolve well beyond that as well.

  • 98p

Smith Haut Lafitte white -  fresh pineapple, lemongrass and citrus, crispy with tension on the palate, fine acidity and intensity, persistent finish. 93p (94p).

  • 93p

90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Sémillon. Cask sample.
Green notes and much simpler than the 2017. There may be more here for the long term but for the moment it’s all speculative and the wine seems a tad sweeter than ideal.

  • 88p

Bright yellow colour with green hue Opulent nose with typical character, ripe aroma reminiscent of grapefruit peel, hints of tangerine, gooseberries and kiwi, apricots, pineapple in the background. Elegant toasting aroma, vanilla and hints of caramel. On the palate wonderful tension, savoury character, excellent length and depth, a complex Smith.

  • 95p
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Information

Origin

Martillac, Bordeaux

Other wines from this producer

Château Cantelys

Château Cantelys blanc

Château Smith Haut Lafitte

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Casher

Hauts de Smith Blanc

Le Petit Haut Lafitte

Le Petit Haut Lafitte Blanc

Les Hauts de Smith

Les Hauts de Smith rouge

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